Luggage cover



M. L. JAFFE 2,724,467

Nov. 22, 1955 LUGGAGE COVER Filed Sept. 9. 1952 LUGGAGE COVER Max L. laufe, Chicago, Ill. Application September 9, 1952, Serial No. 308,543 1 Claim. (Cl. 190-26) My invention relates to an expansible luggage cover which is so constructed that it can be placed in snug position upon pieces of luggage of varying heights for predetermined lots thereby providing a cover which, within certain limits, is adapted to be applied to pieces of luggage without the necessity of the manufacturer or the various distributing agencies carrying multiple sizes in each lot to satisfy the needs of customers.

In the manufacture of luggage, particularly suitcases of various types and kinds such as two-suiters, threesuiters, overnight cases and the like, manufacturers adhere quite closely to longitudinal dimensions and also to thickness dimensions of various lots of suitcases, such as 2l, 24 and the like, but there is no uniformity with respect to height of each lot usually defined in terms of lengths of these various cases. These variations usually run from 1/2 to 11/2 depending upon the type of suitcase, and luggage covers heretofore have had to be produced by the manufacturer to conform to the heights of various lots of cases produced by various manufacturers, with the result that the luggage cover manufacturer and the distributor must carry a large stock of covers of varying dimensions to meet the demands of the trade. The use of luggage covers has become very extensive, especially for use with luggage made of leather or some of the plastic materials which scratch and damage easily in the handling of baggage at railway stations, airports and the like, as well as being carried in the trunks of automobiles. These covers protect the surface of such luggage from such damage and scratches which produce an unsightly appearance of the luggage. Luggage covers for the protection of suitcases and the like can easily be replaced at small expense if damaged, and yet these covers thoroughly protect the surface of the luggage from scratches, tears, and the like brought about by rough handling. Likewise a cover must fit the piece of luggage rather snugly and be drawn tightly around it or else it presents an unsightly appearance and is not a readily salable article, in addition to the fact that a precise iit for a luggage cover is somewhat diicult to secure. In view of the fact, therefore, that lots of luggage are usually determined by inches of length such as 18, 21", 24" and the like, and are very close to standard in length, and are quite standard among the manufacturers so far as the thickness of a piece of luggage is concerned, a cover can be designed which tits the contour of the bag fairly snugly except as to height. In my improved design I have provided a luggage cover which, insofar as the standard dimensions are concerned with respect to length and thickness, covers are designed for any particular lot, will iit a bag of almost any manufacturer in two dirnensions and, because of the use of an elastic strip stretchable in a vertical direction only, my improved cover can be fitted for any lot of bags regardless of the manufacturer, and a good snug tit is provided. Various sizes of luggage covers would still be necessary because naturally a luggage cover made for a 24" bag would be too large for a 2l bag, but the covers can be manufactured, stocked Patent() and sold to be determined in dimensions by the length of the bags only, thereby reducing the inventory necessary to be carried by the distributor and retailer, as well as the manufacturer of these luggage covers.

Another and further object of my invention is the provision of a luggage cover in which an elastic strip is provided at the bottom of the cover and which can easily and quickly be fitted around a standard piece of luggage, with closure mem-bers adapted for closing the ends and partially at the top, usually of a slide type of fastener, and which in the very act of closing the bag stretches the elastic so that it ts snugly over the entire surface of the bag without adding to the diliculties of placing a luggage cover on the bag.

Another and further object of my invention is the provision of a luggage cover having a bottom portion which is made of the usual bottom with an elastic strip secured thereto at the marginal edges which is stretchable in a transverse direction only, to which elastic strip is secured the usual side and end members of a luggage cover in the usual manner, thus facilitating the manufacture of the cover as well as its application to and removal from a piece of luggage.

These and other objects of my invention will be better and further understood by reference to the accompanying sheet of drawings and in which- Fig. l is a side elevation of the cover secured to a piece of luggage with the two positions of the cover being shown in full lines in normal position, and in dotted lines in its expanded position;

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of a luggage cover applied to a piece of luggage looking toward the end of Fig. l at the left side of the drawing;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on lines 3-3 of Fig. l showing the end of the cover opposite to that shown in Fig. 2; 'and Fig. 4 is a top plan View of the luggage cover with a piece of luggage enclosed therein.

Referring now specically to the drawings and in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the lower portion of the cover is composed of a bottom 10, preferably of a fabric material such as canvas, twill, denim or the like to which buttons 11, 11 are secured upon which the luggage cover rests when applied to a piece of luggage, with elastic strips 12, 13, 14 and 15 being secured to the marginal edges of the bottom 10 at its ends and sides by being stitched or otherwise secured thereto or in any other approved manner, thereby providing a lower portion of a cover for luggage, with the upper portions as hereinafter described being attached to the elastic strips 12, 13, 14 and 15, which are stitched together in end-to-end relation with each other with the sections 12 and 13 at the ends of the cover and the strips 14 and 15 at the sides thereof, with the seams connecting the ends of the sections being at the corners of the cover.

The upper portion of the cover is formed of side sections 16 and 17 which are stitched or otherwise secured to the upper edge of the elastic strips 14 and 15 respectively, with end sections being composed of panels 18 and 19, and 20 and 21 respectively. The panels 18 and 19 are secured to the upper edge of the elastic member 13 at their lower ends and are stitched or otherwise secured along their outer marginal edges to one of the ends of the side sections 16 and 17 at right angles to each other. The panels 20 and 21 are secured at their lower ends to the upper edge of the elastic member 12 and are stitched or otherwise secured along their marginal outside edges to the ends of the side sections 16 and 17 on the end opposite the end panels 18 and 19, thereby providing end closure members for the cover at each of its ends. Top sections 22 and 23 are provided which are secured along their outer sides to the upper edges of the side sections 16 and 17, by being stitched thereto and at each of their ends to the upper ends of each pair of end members 18 and 19, and 20 and 21, thereby forming a complete cover for a suitcase or the like.

A fastening member, comprising a strip of fabric 24, is secured by stitching 25 to the inner edge of the panel 19 with one end of the member 24 extending over one of the upper corners of the cover and being stitched to the upper section 23 along its inner marginal edge for a portion of its length. A similar fabric strip 26 is secured by stitching 25 to the inner edge of the panel 1S and extends partially across the top of the cover and is secured to the inner edge of the section 22 for a portion of its length. The strips 24 and 26 have tracks 27 and 28 secured thereto with a slide fastening member 29 being provided which runs over the tracks 27 and 28 and serves as a closure member at one end of the cover and partially across the top thereof. The end panel 20 has a fabric strip 30 stitched thereto along its inner marginal edge, the said strip 30 also being stitched to the inner edge of the top section 23 and extends partially therealong. A similar fabric strip 31 is stitched to the inner marginal edge of the panel 21 and extends from the edge of the elastic strip 12 over the corner of the cover and is stitched to the inner marginal edge of the top section 22 and extends partially longitudinally thereof. Tracks 32 and 33 are secured to the fabric strips 30 and 31 with a slide fastener 34 on the said tracks 32 and 33 by means of which the panels 20 and 21 are secured together along their inner marginal edges and the top sections 22 and 23 are also secured together for a part of their length terminating short of the slide 27 whereby an opening is provided in the cover through which the handle 35 of a case 36 enclosed within the cover extends for carrying and handling purposes.

[t is believed that the structure of the cover will be fully understood from the foregoing description. Its application to a bag and its removal therefrom is very simply accomplished in that the slide fasteners 29 and 34 are moved along this track to points in the ends of the cover adjacent the elastic strips 12 and 13 and the lower end of the cover applied to the bag by slipping the lower part of the bag into the pocket thus formed or by slipping the cover over the lower portion of the bag and then grasping the slides and running them along the tracks to their ends adjacent the handle on the bag. As

the slides move over the corners of the bag, the strips 12 and 13 are stretched transversely sufficiently to allow the edges of the top sections tomeet with the side strips 14 and 15 stretching at the same time, so that by the mere act of application of the cover the elastic strips stretch suciently to allow the cover to accommodate itself to the height of the case. When the cover is to be removed, the reverse of the operation just above described is performed and the cover is slipped olii' the case.

While I have described more or less precisely the details of construction, l do not wish to be understood as limiting myself thereto, as I contemplate changes in form and the proportion of parts and the substitution of equivalents as circumstances may suggest or render expedient without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention,

What is claimed is:

A luggage cover comprising an enclosure having a bottom section, a pair of elastic end strips, a pair of elastic side strips, each of said elastic strips being elastic in a transverse direction only, one of said end strips being secured at one of its sides to one end of the bottom section, the other end strip being secured at one of its sides to the opposite end of the bottom section, each of said side strips being secured along its side edge to one of the side edges of the bottom section, the side and end strips being secured together at their adjacent ends, a pair of side panels, a pair of top panels and two pairs of end panels, the side panels at their lower edges being secured to a side edge of the elastic side strips, each pair of said end panels being secured to the marginal edge of one of the end strips and to one end of the side panels along one marginal edge, each of said top panels being secured at each end to each adjacent end of the end panels and to one edge of the side panels, and fastening means secured to the side edges of each adjacent side of each adjacent end panel extending throughout the length of the end panelsand a partial distance along the meeting adjacent edges of the top panels whereby a handle opening is provided for a piece of luggage.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,520,250 Meyers Aug. 29, 1950 2,532,154 Duskin Nov. 28, 1950 2,617,504 Meyers Nov. ll, 1952 

